Tag Archives: New York City
Traditional Greetings
After almost a month, I can find my way around kai fa qu, but as I walk to my school, the post office, the cheap vegetable market, the only store in town with refridgerated eggs, and so forth, literally everyone … Continue reading
Small Victories
The other day in the vegetable market, a vendor tried to cheat me. While I was figuring out the Mandarin to argue with him, I realized I was fighting for less than 6 cents. But it’s the principle, you know? … Continue reading
It’s Not The Heat, It’s The Humidity
I noticed that my teenagers have a problem saying “more hotter” and “more taller” so I prepared a lesson on comparative adjectives. I asked the boys to give me some adjectives as examples, so we could practice forming them like … Continue reading
Pictures Of Chicks
This my student, Daniel, showing me his new pets. He brought them in to the school’s office in a bag yesterday and he was upset that his chicks were dying! I went into total Kristine-mode, warming them up with my … Continue reading
Evil Language
Mandarin Chinese reminds me of my ex-boyfriend. I mean, it’s so complicated and confusing, there are a few rules but no one really understands why it does those things it does. Sometimes westerners are attracted to Mandarin, but after struggling … Continue reading
Passive Periphrastic
Today I had a new student in my Saturday class for middle school kids (their names are Andy, Grant, and Eric… and I am only responsible for Eric’s English name). The new student is a seven-year-old Korean boy, who was … Continue reading
Qing mei zhu ma
Mandarin has a separate word for older sister and younger sister. There is a difference between an aunt who’s your mom’s sister, and one who’s married to your uncle, between an uncle on your mom’s side and an uncle on … Continue reading
Hot Springs
Yesterday I went to the hot springs with my school’s headmistress, her husband, and another foreign teacher, Calvin from Wales. People tend to socialize with their coworkers a lot, and questions about an applicant’s marital status and social activities that … Continue reading
Valentine’s Day
Happy Hallmark Day! I taught my first lesson today, which wasn’t supposed to happen for a week yet, and also I was supposed to have someone observing my first lesson. Yet another example of how schedules don’t exist in China, … Continue reading
